All We Have To Do Is Wait
by The-Fiction-Fangirl
Summary: When out on a food run, Ben is severely injured. Hal and Tom rush him back to camp, and Anne and Lourdes. Will Ben pull through, or will something happen that nobody was prepared for...
1. Injured

**Okay. Here's a brand new one. The idea just kind of came to me. Please read my A/N at the bottom! Enjoy! R&R!**

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"Abort! Abort! Retreat! Run!" Tom was yelling out commands.

What had started out as a simple food run, turned into an all out ambush. Mechs and skitters were swarming the place. Tom and his group were fighting. Shooting away all of their bullets. As they ran out of ammo, they grabbed their knives and tried to get in close. Ben was dealing with several skitters, as were Dai, Hal, Tom, and Maggie.

Thankfully, there were only four mechs. The team had used their mech bullets and had just finished taking out the first three, but one still lingered.

Once Ben had defeated and killed all of the skitters surrounding him, he advanced forward to try and help his fellow comrades. As he was scanning the situation, he saw the fourth mech closing in towards Hal. Ben started running.

Just as he reached his brother, the bullets followed the path of the blue lights trained on Ben's stomach. Hal finished off his few skitters, and turned around just in time to see his little brother fall to the ground.

As the mech was about to shoot off another round, it began to stagger back from the bullets piercing it's metal outside. Hal watched as it fell to the ground, wires still sparking. Then he turned around to see Anthony, Pope, and the other Berserkers. Along with Weaver, and two other soldiers.

For a minute, the whole group stood there, stunned, looks of gratitude worn upon their faces. Then Hal seemed to be struck by the memory of Ben getting severely injured, and rushed over to his little brother.

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Ben didn't remember much, but he did remember pain. Lots and lots of pain. But now, it was fading. Everything was fading. His eyesight was starting to dim around the edges, and black spots danced in front of him. He had his hands resting on his abdomen.

The longer he tried to focus more intently on the things that happened, the harder he found it to stay pinned to one thing. His thoughts were jumbled, and all over the place.

He decided to attempt to understand his wounds. Ben remembered fighting skitters, and then the mech had its lights trained on Hal. He had rushed over there, just as the robot began it's first round of hard bullets.

Jarred back into reality, he felt his hands on something warm, and sticky. They became even more slippery the longer his hands lay rested on his stomach. Ben had felt his eyes begin to close, but was brought back by a familiar voice shouting his name.

"Ben! Ben! Ben?" a voice yelled.

He struggled, but was eventually able to open his eyes. As he looked up, Ben saw a pair of eyes staring back at him, full of worry. He tried to reply, but only ended up gasping for breath.

"Shhh," the voice cooed. By now, Ben was able to recongnize the face of which the voice belonged to. Hal. His older brother.

A few seconds later, he saw another face pop up, wearing the same expression as Hal. The features were a bit older, though. And this man had a beard. Tom. Ben's father.

"Ben?" Ben's father asked hesitantly. He could see tears in his dad's eyes. How bad was it? The pain had begun to subside, but that could be because he was slowly slipping into unconsciousness. "Ben, I know it's hard, but you gotta try to stay awake. We're gonna have to lift you up. So just, sit tight," his dad said to him. "Hal. Help me."

Hal looked up with moisture forming in the corners of his eyes, but nodded and rose to his feet. Together, Hal and Tom lifted Ben up. He groaned.

"I'm sorry, Ben. But we gotta get you to Anne back at camp. Just, stay awake. Focus on my voice." Tom tried to stay calm, but he had worry etched into all of his features. He was tense, and worry lines creased his forehead. The whole way back, both Masons tried to hold in their tears.

When they got to camp, it had only been about five minutes, but Ben still looked really bad. The food run had barely begun when they were ambushed. Since they were so close to camp, Weaver must have heard the struggle and the gunshots. That's why they came.

Hal and Tom rushed Ben to the medical bus, and the oldest Mason son let silent tears fall from his eyes. As he closed them, more dropped onto Ben's shirt.

Weaver had been following closely behind the two Mason men and rapidly pounded on the bus doors. The door swung open, Anne started to speak, looked down, and immediately understood the urgency of the situation. She ushered the three Masons inside, but kept Weaver back. She had Ben laid down on one of the cots, and then started to push Hal and Tom away.

"No! No, I need to be in here, Anne. Please. It's Ben," Tom pleaded.

As bad as Anne felt for the man, she needed her space. Plus, she didn't want the men to see her operate. "I'm sorry. I can't let you be in here. I'll take good care of him, and call you right when I'm done. But for now, I need my space to work. Me and Lourdes will take care of it," she assured Tom and Hal.

Tom finally started to back away reluctantly, and when he saw the look on his son's face—a look of total despair and stubbornness—he began to drag him to the door. Once they were both out, Lourdes shut the door.

* * *

Matt rushed out to find his family once he heard the news that they were back. He ran out of the tent to try and find his family. As he was running by the medical bus, he spotted Hal and his father sitting in chairs. He hurriedly walked over to them.

They both had their heads in their hands so they didn't notice Matt. He could see tears dripping from both their eyes, and dropping onto the ground below them. Something must have gone wrong. Where was Ben?

"Hey, guys. What's wrong. Where's Ben?" Matt asked, jarring the two other Masons from their own little worlds.

Tom and Hal both looked up at the same time. "What?" Hal asked.`

"Where's Ben? You guys were crying, what's wrong?" Matt repeated. When the two men refused to reply, and just sat there looking anywhere but Matt with guilt in their eyes, he started to worry. "Why are you outside the medical bus?" he asked. Although he was afraid he already knew the answer. "How bad is it?" Matt questioned, his face downcast. He had thought about this theory before, and all of the evidence led back to it.

"Matt," Tom sighed.

"No! No! He's Ben! He's gotta be alright!" Matt yelled. He wanted to know what happened, but he was also terrified. He always worried about his family getting hurt, and today, it had happened. "Okay. How bad? What happened?" Matt asked, more calmly.

"He's pretty hurt, buddy," Hal replied. "But you were right. He's Ben. He'll pull through."

Matt nodded, but it sounded more like Hal was trying to convince himself. "Can we see him?"

The two men shook their heads. "Dr. Glass is gonna call us when she's done with the operation," Tom said.

"Okay," Matt muttered.

"But why don't you wait here with us?" Hal told his little brother with a gentle voice. The youngest Mason nodded, and walked into his older brother's arms. Hal picked him up, and set him on his lap.

He didn't think that Hal meant for anyone else to hear it, but he said quietly, "Now all we have to do is wait."

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**Okay. So, I'm gonna give you guys an option. **

**I can either make it so the injuries are not super severe, and Ben has a happy reuniting with his family. **

**Or I can give him a very sad, soulful, meaningful, hero's death. **

**Please either PM me or leave in a comment, which you want me to do! :)**


	2. Holding On

**Hey guys. Been a few days. Thanks for all your comments! Please R&R and read my A/N at the bottom! :)**

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As soon as Anne was out the door of the medical bus, all three Masons were on their feet awaiting the report.

"Anne. Is he—" Tom asked quietly.

"Ben's not so good. Right now though, he's okay. He's asleep. He's also in a lot of pain. He also has a high fever. Those stitches could very easily burst. And the fact that he's lost a lot of blood already, his wound reopening wouldn't be good. But they've been holding up so far," Anne replied

"Okay. What else?" Hal questioned.

"Well, like I said about the stitches. If they're even strained just a little too much, they could break leading to more bleeding. Ben was lucky, though. The mech bullets didn't hit anything important. There's no internal bleeding, so that's good. Just don't stress him out. He still has a lot of healing to do. Let him rest. If something goes wrong, and Ben needs medical attention, just call me. I be over there," she told the Mason family as she pointed a few yards away.

"Thanks, Anne," Tom said.

Dr. Glass nodded, and left the medical bus to give them some privacy. The remaining Masons exchanged glances, and then walked inside. What they saw, didn't delight them. In fact, it caused them to groan internally.

Ben.

He was pale, and sweating a bit. He was under blankets, yet still shivering. As they came closer, they could tell that his breathing was very shallow. He was taking uneven breaths, and straining to get a deep one in. His eyebrows were scrunched up in pain, and every time he shifted, he grunted.

Overall, he didn't look so good.

The Masons each took a seat by Ben's cot. Tom and Hal both held one of Ben's hands, while Matt just sat there and looked at Ben with tears in his eyes. He hated it when this happened. When someone got hurt. Because when someone gets hurt, there's always the chance that…that they…that they don't make it. Matt didn't want to admit it, but it was true. And he couldn't let it happen to Ben. No, not Ben. Not his older brother. He _had_ to get through this.

"Oh, Ben," Hal whispered. "You really are an idiot."

"What happened, Hal?" Tom asked.

Hal sighed. "We were all fighting skitters, right? Well the last mech must have targeted me, and Ben had to have seen it. Apparently he ran over and…and took the bullets for me. I turned around and he was falling. He was bleeding a lot, too. Oh God! This is all my fault," Hal cried out as tears welled up in his eyes. He wiped his free hand over his distressed features, and tried to take deep steady breaths.

"Hal. This is not your fault," Tom said patting his oldest son on the shoulder.

"But Ben—"

"Will be fine. He's gonna pull through, and it's going to be alright."

Hal nodded, but the look in his eyes told the whole story. He still blamed himself, and he wished that it was _him_ lying down in the cot. Ben shouldn't be here. He should be awake, and happy. If anyone was supposed to be here, it was Hal. Hal was supposed to be killed by those mech bullets. Now Ben was lying down unconscious, his life slowly deteriorating. He was here for Hal. _Because _of him.

A few minutes later, the two oldest Masons could feel their eyes drooping. They had stayed awake for hours waiting for news concerning Ben.

"Hal, get some sleep," Tom directed.

"Nah, I'm fine. _You_ should sleep," Hal protested exhaustingly.

"No. Seriously, Hal."

Apparently, Hal was too tired to argue anymore, and slumped back in his chair, his hand still in Ben's. Matt on the other hand, wasn't as tired. He watched as his father slowly slipped away into sleep as well.

And then there were two. One was unconscious, but still. Two.

Matt began to feel very lonely, and depressed. He started whispering to Ben even though he knew he couldn't hear him.

"Hey, Ben," he said. "We, uh, we all miss you. Please wake up. Please? You have to be okay. You have to." As Matt spoke, tears started to form in his eyes, and he sat back in his chair and cried silently as to not wake Hal and his father.

When he stopped after a few minutes, he leaned back in and put his face to Ben's. He was only nine, but he could still tell something was wrong. He couldn't feel any hot breaths. Couldn't hear them. He leaned down and gingerly placed his head onto his brother's stomach.

It was silent, and unmoving.

"Dad! Dad, wake up!" Matt yelled.

Tom awoke with a start. "Matt! What's wrong, Matt?" he asked.

"Ben! I think something's happened!"

Mr. Mason leaned down to check Ben over. That's when he realized the problem. He stuck two fingers on his son's neck, and gasped at his result. "Hal! Wake up!" Tom cried.

"Dad!" Hal's eyes flew open as he spoke.

"Hal, go get Anne," Tom ordered, keeping his eyes on Ben, and placing his hands over his chest.

"Why?"

"It's Ben."

"What about Ben?"

Tom picked up his head, looked his Hal in the eyes, and said, "He's not breathing."

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**Hope that was an okay cliffhanger. ;) Please leave reviews!**

**So I've decided on a slow, painful recovery. Personally, I was pretty happy. I ****_really _****didn't want to kill off my baby! :( But I thought it would be nice to give you guys a choice. Is a slow, painful recovery okay for you guys?**

**Just a heads up: this story might end up becoming something other than what I had planned. There will still be a lot about Ben's recovery, but I may put something extra in the story. If I did, would you guys be okay with that?**

**So I put a lot of question and confirmations in here for you guys. Tell me what you thought in a PM or a review! Thanks! Until next time! :D**


	3. Pain

**Omg, guys! Well, it's been a while now, hasn't it? I'm sorry for not updating! :( I hope that I'll be able to get in some more new chapters for this one and some other stories. For now, enjoy this super short chapter! R&R!**

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When Anne rushed through the door of the medical bus, she saw Tom leaning over his son doing CPR. As she got closer, she could see that he was crying, and letting his tears fall onto Ben's face. "Come on, Ben. Breathe! Stay with me!" he cried out.

Dr. Glass gently pushed Tom aside, and began doing CPR again. "Where's Lourdes?" she asked.

"Um, Hal's getting her," Mr. Mason replied. As if it was rehearsed, the brown haired Latino popped herself through the door with Hal right behind her, and ran over to assist in helping Ben. She began hand-bagging Ben, which was forcing air into his lungs. After about a minute, she stopped and pressed two fingers to his wrist. Lourdes breathed a sigh of relief. "He's breathing," she announced.

Anne stopped CPR, wiped several beads of sweat off her forehead, and blew her bangs out of her face. The tension slowly eased away. Matt was still quivering in the back of the bus, Hal was by Ben's side again, and Tom was leaning against a wall. Anne and Lourdes started out, but Tom stopped them. "Thank you," he said quietly. The two women nodded with genuine smiles.

Once they were gone, Mr. Mason turned back to his son. He looked peaceful. His eyes were closed gently, and his hands lay at his sides. Tom was really just happy he was alive and breathing. He pulled up a chair, and waved Matt over. The youngest Mason went—practically tiptoed—quietly over to where his father was sitting, and climbed up onto his lap. Hal had moisture forming in the corners of his eyes, and Tom realized that he had some, as well. Matt was mostly just in shock, but still had a few unshed tears.

For hours they sat there next to Ben, waiting for any sign of consciousness—he showed none. He'd just lay there, the only movement being the rise and fall of his chest, and even that was only slight. On and off the Masons would drift off into sleep, and when they woke up Ben would be the same as before.

Tom peered through the medical bus window to see a light, pink sky with little light. It must have been very early in the morning. He closed his eyes again, and nodded off.

_Ben was lying on the ground. Blood was pouring from wounds in his stomach. His breathing was shallow, and his pulse was weak. His eyes were struggling to stay open. _

_"No, Ben. Stay awake. You have to stay awake," Tom pleaded. _

_"Dad," Ben said. "I'm scared. Why didn't you save me? I'm dying. You're letting me die."_

_"Ben, I-I'm so sorry."_

_"It's your fault." Ben's eyes closed shut._

_"Ben? No! Ben, wake up! You can't die! You can't!" Tom yelled as he shook his son. He held his head in his hands and wept. _

_ "Dad? Help me. I need help. It hurts. Please," a faraway voice whispered. It gasped for air. Something about it seemed weird. It was making choked noises, and coughing weakly. The voice seemed so familiar…_

"Dad? Help. I—" Ben went into a coughing fit. Tom's eyes fluttered open and he saw the middle Mason struggling for breaths. His face was sweaty, and pale. He was sitting upright in his cot.

"Ben!" Mr. Mason cried out as he set Matt down. The youngest Mason had fear in his eyes, but stayed quiet as he backed up into a wall. "Ben, are you al—" he stopped talking abruptly when he saw the panic in his son's green eyes. "Ben?" Tom suddenly looked down, and gasped.

Ben's hands were holding his torso, but it wasn't helping. Blood was seeping through his fingers. He must have woken up, sat up too quickly, and burst his stitches.

"Hal! Wake up! Get Anne and Lourdes!" Tom ordered. The oldest Mason son's eyes flew open. He jumped up from his chair. He was about to speak, but then looked down and immediately understood the problem. He ran out the door with lightning speed.

"Ben? Ben, it's okay. Help's on its way. Just lay down," Tom cooed gently, but urgently. Ben managed to lie down in his cot with his hands still on his recently reopened wounds. Mr. Mason looked down, and actually saw how bad it was.

His middle son had been shot three times in the stomach. He only had two hands, so one wound was letting out blood quicker than the other two. Tom put his hands over it, and pushed down hard. Ben whimpered.

"I know. I'm sorry but we gotta keep pressure on them. Just hold on. A little bit longer," Tom said as he glanced over his shoulder. When he looked back, Ben's hands were sliding down to his sides and his eyes were shutting closed.

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**Maybe not the best chapter ending, but I hope it'll suffice! Again, sorry for taking so long. I've just been kinda busy. Just to make sure. After the part where Ben closes his eyes in Tom's dream, Tom was hearing Ben from reality asking for help. I hope you guys understood that... Oh and Tom was blaming himself for Ben getting hurt and he was having a nightmare about that. Just so you guys know! :)**

**So anyway, review. Favorite. Follow. Please. Do it. Now. Don't forget. For me. Ok. Just do it. Thanks. Bye. Peace out homie. :D**


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